Sermons of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

The Christian will certainly fail to understand Christianity if they reduce it to morality, escape from hell, or even simply the forgiveness of sins. In this sermon on Romans 12:1–2 titled “Renewal of the Mind (3),” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones reminds that Christianity is concerned with those things, but the Scriptures teach that the Christian life is so much more. The doctrine of regeneration, he says, tells that God enables the mind to know and appreciate the will of God. It is surely unnatural for fallen humanity to delight in the law of the Lord. It is contrary to the sinful nature to confess, no matter the dire circumstances of life, that God’s ways are always good. Indeed, the pleasure and delight the believer experiences concerning the will of God is both the result and goal of the renewal of the mind. Dr. Lloyd-Jones contends that the new outlook on life where the Christian believes God’s will is always good, always acceptable, and always perfect moves Christianity beyond other ethical systems of the world. Listen as he shows how the renewal of minds leads to the most glorious aspect of the Christian faith –– finding the will of God beautiful and most wonderful no matter what.

The purpose of the incarnation, the cross, and the resurrection is not to merely have individuals escape hell. The Christian will miss the glory of the person and work of Christ if they reduce salvation to fire insurance. In this sermon on Romans 12:1–2 titled “Renewal of the Mind (2),” regeneration, or new birth, is being transferred out of the kingdom of darkness, and transferred into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son. This is what it means to be a Christian – God creates a new humanity. The Christian has new thoughts, new attitudes, and a new outlook on life. In short, their mind is changed. As the apostle Paul says succinctly, the Christian has a renewal of the mind. One misses the message of the entire New Testament if they miss the apostle Paul’s teaching in this passage. Dr. Lloyd-Jones reminds how important Paul’s teaching is to the Christian life. As pilgrims on the journey, Christians say to themselves day by day, “I no longer belong to the darkness; I am of the people of God. I am of His kingdom.” By reminding themselves of these things, they view God, themselves, the world, and time itself in a completely different way. Listen as Dr. Lloyd-Jones applies one of the most profound teachings on the doctrine of sanctification.

Tackling individual sin in the Christian life is typically how evangelicals think of growth or sanctification. They often believe that by approaching sin in piecemeal manner that they will have overall victory in their lives. The trouble, of course, is once they gain victory over an individual sin there is always another temptation lurking. As a result, the Christian falls right back into besetting sin. Rather than dealing with individual sin in this manner, the apostle Paul calls to something more profound. The doctrine of sanctification is much more comprehensive than this. In this sermon on Romans 12:1–2 titled “Renewal of the Mind (1),” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones reminds in this message that sanctification concerns the whole outlook on life. The Christian will view their entire lives differently. They will also think differently about themselves and the world and thus act differently in this world. Instead of adding a list of dos and don’ts, Paul commands believers to be wholly transformed by the renewal of the mind. Dr. Lloyd-Jones belabors this important point because this is essential to Christian teaching; it is the difference between legalism and Christianity. Legalism begins with lists of behavior and calls people to perform the list. Christianity begins with who the person is in Christ and then moves to right behavior. The difference is subtle but important for being conformed to the image of the Son and avoiding hypocrisy.

Avoiding the world is not an option for Christians. Some still try it anyway by setting up rules and regulations because fear of conforming to the world drives their choices. A great distance is then placed between the Christian and the world. History has shown the various extremes which men and women will go and all of it is contrary to the gospel. In this sermon on Romans 12:1–2 titled “The World (2),” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones is concerned that Christians who seek to live a life of holiness may fall into this sort of trap of legalism or Pharisaism. All of it is governed by fear and this is not what the apostle Paul had in mind. Listen in as Dr. Lloyd-Jones addresses this grave misstep. The Christian is not to be so focused on the world that their pursuit of holiness becomes driven by it. What God has given the Christian is His word and they must not be concerned about the additional regulations that some say the Christian should follow. On the contrary, what one must be concerned about is simply the expression of their new character in Christ. This is what drives the believer: the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

When the church becomes like the world, the gospel message is eclipsed. Today it seems the church is often bending to the desires and the thoughts of the world. Who determines morality? What is right? Some church leaders argue that the message must change or else become irrelevant. In this sermon on Romans 12:1–2 titled “The World (1),” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones argues that this very thinking is conforming to the world. The world, according to the Bible, thinks of, organizes itself, and lives life apart from God. Fallen humanity is corrupt in their very thinking. They do not know God. They do not understand the depth of the human problem and their proposed solutions lack the answer. Dr. Lloyd-Jones argues that Christians are not to conform to the world. The understanding of morality comes from the word of God and nothing else. Christians are a distinct people who have a new mind and have become enlightened to the will of God. The great tragedy today is not that the devil is controlling the world but that Christians are looking to the world for answers. That theology is conforming to the ideas and expectations of sinful humanity. Listen as Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains in this sermon that this admonition is as much needed today as it ever was: be not conformed to the world.